JP2007233503A - Information processor and method for controlling electric power consumption - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the work efficiency of a user. <P>SOLUTION: An information processor has a battery 126. An OS 200 sets an action to shift an operation mode of the processor to a first electric power consumption mode operating with a first electric power consumption or to a second electric power consumption mode operating with a second electric power consumption smaller than the first electric power consumption. If the residual quantity of the battery 126 reaches a first quantity in a state in which the action to shift the operation mode to the first consumption mode is set, a BIOS 120A shifts the operation mode to the first consumption mode, and if the residual quantity of the battery 126 reaches a second quantity smaller than the first quantity in a state in which the action to shift the operation mode to the second consumption mode is set, the BIOS 120A shifts the operation mode to the second consumption mode. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus including a battery and a power consumption control method thereof.

  In an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer, when the remaining battery level is below a certain level, an alarm indicating that the battery has run out is generally generated, and a transition to a preset operation mode is executed. .

A technique for generating an event desired by a user at a battery remaining point specified by the user is also known. For example, in Patent Literature 1, an event desired by a user, for example, an event indicating reproduction of audio data stored in a specified audio file, is specified at a plurality of remaining battery points arbitrarily specified by the user. A technique for generating a message output event of a text file stored in a text file or an application program activation event stored in a specified program file is disclosed.
JP 2000-214965 A

  By the way, as an operation mode to be shifted when the remaining amount of the battery becomes below a certain level, there are a standby mode and a hibernation mode.

  When the transition to the standby mode is executed, the power supply to the main memory or the like is continuously performed, so that the remaining amount of the battery is exhausted immediately. On the other hand, when the transition to the sleep mode is executed, power is not supplied to the main memory or the like, so that the remaining amount of the battery is not exhausted immediately.

  As described above, in the hibernation mode, the user can no longer continue working after shifting to the hibernation mode even though there is a certain amount of remaining battery power.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an information processing apparatus and a power consumption control method capable of improving a user's work efficiency.

  An information processing apparatus according to the present invention is an information processing apparatus having a battery, wherein the information processing apparatus operates in a first power consumption mode in which the operation mode of the information processing apparatus operates at a first power consumption amount or the first power consumption amount Setting means for setting an action for shifting to the second power consumption mode that operates with a small second power consumption amount, and the remaining battery in a state where the action for shifting to the first power consumption mode is set. When the capacity reaches the first capacity, the remaining capacity of the battery is changed to the first capacity in a state in which an action to shift to the first power consumption mode and to move to the second power consumption mode is set. Control means for shifting to the second power consumption mode when the second capacity smaller than the second power consumption mode is reached.

  A power consumption control method according to the present invention is a power consumption control method executed by an information processing apparatus having a battery, wherein a first power consumption mode in which an operation mode of the information processing apparatus operates at a first power consumption amount. Alternatively, an action for shifting to the second power consumption mode that operates with a second power consumption smaller than the first power consumption is set and an action for shifting to the first power consumption mode is set. In the state, when the remaining capacity of the battery reaches the first capacity, the remaining capacity of the battery is set in an action in which the transition to the first power consumption mode and the transition to the second power consumption mode are set. When the second capacity that is smaller than the first capacity is reached, the mode is shifted to the second power consumption mode.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to improve a user's working efficiency.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  First, the configuration of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. This information processing apparatus is realized as, for example, a notebook personal computer 10.

  FIG. 1 is a front view of the notebook personal computer 10 with the display unit opened. The computer 10 includes a computer main body 11 and a display unit 12. The display unit 12 incorporates a display device composed of a TFT-LCD (Thin Film Transistor Liquid Crystal Display) 17, and the display screen of the LCD 17 is positioned substantially at the center of the display unit 12.

  The display unit 12 is attached to the computer main body 11 so as to be rotatable between an open position and a closed position. The computer main body 11 has a thin box-shaped casing, and a keyboard 13, a power button 14 for turning on / off the computer 10, an input operation panel 15, a touch pad 16, and the like are arranged on the upper surface. ing.

  The input operation panel 15 is an input device that inputs an event corresponding to a pressed button, and includes a plurality of buttons for starting a plurality of functions. These button groups also include a TV start button 15A and a DVD / CD start button 15B. The TV activation button 15A is a button for activating a TV function for reproducing, viewing, and recording TV broadcast program data. The DVD / CD start button 15B is a button for playing back video content recorded on a DVD or CD.

  Next, the system configuration of the computer 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the computer 10 includes a CPU 111, a north bridge 112, a main memory 113, a graphics controller 114, a south bridge 119, a BIOS-ROM 120, a hard disk drive (HDD) 121, and an optical disk drive (ODD) 122. , A TV tuner 123, an embedded controller / keyboard controller IC (EC / KBC) 124, a network controller 125, a battery 126, an AC adapter 127, a power supply controller (PSC) 128, and the like.

  The CPU 111 is a processor provided to control the operation of the computer 10, and an OS (Operating System) 200 loaded from the hard disk drive (HDD) 121 to the main memory 113 and a utility (or application) managed by the OS. ) Execute software such as 201.

  The CPU 111 also executes a system BIOS (Basic Input Output System) stored in the BIOS-ROM 120. The system BIOS is a program for hardware control.

  The north bridge 112 is a bridge device that connects the local bus of the CPU 111 and the south bridge 119. The north bridge 112 also includes a memory controller that controls access to the main memory 113. The north bridge 112 also has a function of executing communication with the graphics controller 114 via an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus or the like.

  The graphics controller 114 is a display controller that controls the LCD 17 used as a display monitor of the computer 10. The graphics controller 114 displays the video data written in the video memory (VRAM) 114A on the LCD 17.

  The south bridge 119 controls each device on an LPC (Low Pin Count) bus and each device on a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus. The south bridge 119 incorporates an IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) controller for controlling the HDD 121 and the ODD 122. Further, the south bridge 119 has a function of controlling the TV tuner 123 and a function of controlling access to the BIOS-ROM 120.

  The HDD 121 is a storage device that stores various software and data. An optical disk drive (ODD) 123 is a drive unit for driving a storage medium such as a DVD or a CD in which video content is stored. The TV tuner 123 is a receiving device for receiving broadcast program data such as a TV broadcast program from the outside.

  The network controller 125 is a communication device that executes communication with an external network such as the Internet.

  The embedded controller / keyboard controller IC (EC / KBC) 124 is a one-chip microcomputer in which an embedded controller for power management and a keyboard controller for controlling the keyboard (KB) 13 and the touch pad 16 are integrated. is there.

  The power controller (PSC) 128 is necessary for each component of the computer 10 based on the power of the battery 126 or the external power supplied from the outside via the AC adapter 127 according to the instruction from the embedded controller (EC). It is a device that generates and supplies power.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a part of information stored in the EEPROM provided in the battery 126.

  The battery 126 is provided with an EEPROM 126A in which various information related to the battery is stored. The EEPROM 126A stores parameters (numerical values) indicating three types of low battery levels LB0, LB1, and LB2 as reference values for determining the low battery state of the battery 126. These values are used by PSC128 or the like.

  The level LB0 is used as a trigger when the operation mode of the computer 10 shifts to the standby mode. For example, when an action to shift to the standby mode when the battery 126 is in a low battery state is set in advance, the transition to the standby mode is executed when the electronic voltage of the battery 126 becomes the level LB0 or lower. It becomes.

  The level LB1 is a level lower than the level LB0, and is used as a trigger when the operation mode of the computer 10 shifts to the sleep mode. For example, when an action to shift to the sleep mode when the battery 126 becomes a low battery state is set in advance, the shift to the sleep mode is executed when the electronic voltage of the battery 126 becomes the level LB0 or less. It becomes.

  The level LB2 is a level lower than the level LB1, and is used as a trigger when the operation mode of the computer 10 shifts to the stop mode. When the electronic voltage of the battery 126 becomes equal to or lower than the level LB2, there is almost no remaining battery power and the standby mode and the hibernation mode cannot be maintained, so that the transition to the stop mode is executed.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the voltage of the battery 126 and the discharge rate.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the discharge rate (%) of the battery 126 increases, the remaining capacity decreases, and thereby the voltage (V) of the battery 126 decreases. The low battery levels LB0, LB1, and LB2 described above correspond to battery voltages when the discharge rates are x (%), x + 3 (%), and x + 5 (%), respectively. As the voltage (V) of the battery 126 decreases, the low battery levels are detected by the PSC 128 in the order of LB0, LB1, and LB2.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of elements involved in the low battery level detection process.
The low battery level detection process involves elements such as the battery 126, the PSC 128, the EC 124A, the BIOS 120A, and the OS 200.

  The OS 200 sets, for example, the setting details of the battery exhaustion alarm action set in advance in the above-described utility (or application) 201 (for example, the setting content “transition the operation mode to the hibernation mode when the battery becomes a low battery state”). ) To the BIOS 120A, and the presence or absence of the battery is identified based on the remaining capacity (mAh) of the battery 126 notified from the BIOS 120A, and it is determined whether or not to execute the alarm action. Further, when executing the battery exhaustion alarm action, the OS 200 instructs the EC 124A to shift to the operation mode (for example, “pause mode”) indicated in the setting content. Further, the OS 200 can convert the remaining capacity (mAh) of the battery 126 notified from the BIOS 120A into a percentage and display it on the screen of the LCD 17.

  As described above, the battery 126 includes the EEPROM 126A in which parameters indicating the low battery levels LB0, LB1, and LB2 are stored.

  The PSC 128 can monitor the voltage of the battery 126 through the terminal of the battery 126. The PSC 128 knows the low battery levels LB0, LB1, and LB2 from the parameters stored in the EEPROM 126A of the battery 126, and each time it detects that the voltage of the battery 126 has reached each of the levels LB0, LB1, and LB2. A value indicating the corresponding remaining capacity (mAh) can be sent to the EC 124A. Of course, the remaining capacity value corresponding to the detected battery voltage can be sent to the EC 124A not only at the low battery level but also every moment. In addition, a value indicating the full charge capacity of the battery 126 can be sent to the EC 124A.

  The EC 124A includes a register 124B as shown in FIG. The register 124B can store a value indicating the full charge capacity of the battery 126, a value indicating the remaining capacity of the battery 126, and the like. In addition, when the value of the remaining capacity of the battery 126 is newly sent from the PSC 128, the EC 124A writes the value in a predetermined area in the register 124B, and notifies the BIOS 120A that the remaining capacity has been updated. can do.

  The BIOS 120A reads information from the register 124B in the EC 124A in response to the update notification from the EC 124A. If an action for shifting to the standby mode is set, the BIOS 120A subtracts a predetermined value (here, a capacity C2% corresponding to 2% of the full charge capacity) as a margin from the remaining capacity indicated in the information read from the register 124B. The obtained value is notified to the OS 200 as the remaining capacity. For example, when the remaining capacity indicated by the information read from the register 124B is the remaining capacity C0 corresponding to the level LB0, the BIOS 120A notifies the OS 200 of a value obtained by subtracting the capacity C2% from the remaining capacity C0 as the remaining capacity. In this case, the OS 200 recognizes that the battery has run out and executes an action for shifting to the standby mode.

  In addition, if the action for shifting to the sleep mode is set, the BIOS 120A does not perform the subtraction as described above, but adds a predetermined value (here, the full charge capacity) to the remaining capacity indicated in the information read from the register 124B. A value obtained by adding 1% capacity C1%) is notified to the OS 200 as a remaining capacity. For example, when the remaining capacity indicated by the information read from the register 124B is the remaining capacity C1 corresponding to the level LB1, the BIOS 120A notifies the OS 200 of a value obtained by adding the capacity C1% to the remaining capacity C1. The value obtained by adding 1% capacity C1% to the remaining capacity C1 is equal to the value obtained by subtracting 2% capacity C2% from the remaining capacity C0. In this case, the OS 200 recognizes that the battery has run out and executes an action for shifting to the sleep mode.

  In addition, you may comprise so that the above-mentioned calculation may be performed with another software or hardware instead of performing with BIOS120A.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the utility 201 managed by the OS 200.

  The utility 201 includes various functions such as a setting unit 301, a setting content notification unit 302, a battery exhaustion recognition unit 303, and an action execution unit 304.

  The setting unit 301 sets information specified by the user through a setting screen related to a battery low alarm action.

  The setting content notifying unit 302 notifies the BIOS 120A of the content set by the setting unit 301 (for example, the setting content that “the operation mode is shifted to the hibernation mode when the battery is in a low battery state”).

  The battery exhaustion recognition unit 303 recognizes battery exhaustion when the remaining capacity of the battery 126 notified from the BIOS 120A is equal to or less than a reference value.

  The action execution unit 304 instructs the EC 124A to shift to the operation mode (for example, “pause mode”) indicated in the setting contents when the battery exhaustion recognition unit 303 recognizes the battery exhaustion.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the BIOS 120A.

  The BIOS 120A includes various functions such as an alarm setting content reception unit 401, a battery remaining amount acquisition unit 402, an OS notification remaining amount calculation unit 403, and a remaining amount notification unit 404.

  The alarm setting content receiving unit 401 receives and holds the setting content related to the battery exhaustion alarm action notified from the OS 200.

  The battery remaining amount acquisition unit 402 reads information including the remaining capacity from the register 124B in the EC 124A in response to the update notification from the EC 124A.

  The OS notification remaining amount calculation unit 403 subtracts a predetermined value from the remaining capacity indicated in the information read by the battery remaining amount acquisition unit 402 when the action for shifting to the standby mode is set, and notifies the OS. When the action for shifting to the hibernation mode is set, a predetermined value is added to the remaining capacity indicated in the information read out by the battery remaining amount acquisition unit 402, and the OS is used for OS notification. The remaining capacity is calculated.

  The remaining amount notification unit 404 notifies the OS 200 of the remaining capacity calculated by the OS notification remaining amount calculation unit 403.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a setting screen realized by the utility 201.

  The setting screen of FIG. 9 is a setting screen related to the battery exhaustion alarm action, and is realized by the setting unit 301 provided in the utility 201. In this setting screen, for example, by putting a check mark in a check box as shown in FIG. In this case, desired designation can be made for the alarm notification method, the operation after the alarm, and the like.

  As the alarm notification method, “message”, “voice” and the like are prepared. As an operation after the alarm, “standby” and “pause” which are power saving modes are prepared. In addition, "Shutdown" and "Do nothing" are also available. When desired designation is made for these items and the OK button is pressed, the setting is completed.

  Next, operations of the PSC 128 and the EC 124A will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  The PSC 128 detects the voltage of the battery 126 through the terminal of the battery 126 and monitors whether the voltage reaches the values of the levels LB0, LB1, and LB2 (step A1). If the voltage of the battery 126 reaches any of the levels LB0, LB1, and LB2 (YES in step A2), the PSC 128 sends a value indicating the corresponding remaining capacity to the EC 124A (step A3). Thus, the EC 124A writes a value indicating the remaining capacity sent from the PSC 128 to a predetermined area in the register 124B, and notifies the BIOS 120A that the remaining capacity has been updated (step A4). Thereafter, the processing from step A1 is repeated.

  Next, operations of the BIOS 120A and the OS 200 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  When the utility 201 managed by the OS 200 sets the content specified by the user through the setting screen for the battery exhaustion alarm action (step B1), the utility 201 notifies the BIOS 120A of the setting content (step B2).

  After receiving this notification, the BIOS 120A waits for an update notification from the EC 124A (step B3).

  When there is an update notification from the EC 124A (YES in step B4), the BIOS 120A reads the remaining capacity of the battery 126 from the register 124B in the EC 124A (step B5). Next, the BIOS 120A confirms what the operation after the alarm indicated in the setting content notified from the OS 200 side is (steps B6 and B7).

  When the operation after the alarm is “standby” (YES in step B6), the BIOS 120A subtracts the capacity corresponding to 2% of the full charge capacity from the remaining capacity read from the register 124B (step B8).

  On the other hand, when the operation after the alarm is “pause” (NO in step B6, YES in step B7), the BIOS 120A adds the capacity of 1% of the full charge capacity to the remaining capacity read from the register 124B ( Step B9).

  When the operation after the alarm is “Shutdown” or the like (NO in Step B7), the BIOS 120A subtracts the capacity corresponding to 2% of the full charge capacity from the remaining capacity read from the register 124B (Step B8).

  Then, the BIOS 120A notifies the OS 200 of the remaining capacity after the calculation (step B10).

  When the OS 200 that has received the notification of the remaining capacity detects that the remaining capacity is equal to or less than the reference value, it recognizes that the battery is out (step B11) and executes the set battery out alarm action. (Step B12).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the action for shifting to the hibernation mode is set in the setting of the battery exhaustion alarm action, the BIOS 120A transmits the value obtained by adding a predetermined value to the remaining capacity obtained from the EC 124A to the OS 200. Thus, the transition to the hibernation mode is performed at a lower battery level than before, and the user can continue working with the computer for a long time.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the components without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

The front view in the state where the display unit of the computer concerning one embodiment of the present invention was opened. The figure which shows the system configuration | structure of the computer. The figure which shows some information stored in EEPROM with which a battery is equipped. The figure which shows the relationship between the voltage of a battery, and a discharge rate. The block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the element in connection with the process of a low battery level detection. The figure for demonstrating the register | resistor with which EC is equipped. The figure which shows an example of a function structure of the utility managed by OS. The figure which shows an example of the function structure of BIOS. The figure which shows an example of the setting screen implement | achieved by a utility. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of PSC and EC. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of BIOS and OS.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Computer, 120A ... BIOS, 200 ... OS, 201 ... Utility, 124 ... EC / KBC, 124A ... EC, 124B ... EC internal register, 126 ... Battery, 126A ... Battery EEPROM, 127 ... AC adapter, 128 ... PSC.

Claims (11)

In an information processing apparatus having a battery,
The operation mode of the information processing apparatus is changed to a first power consumption mode that operates at a first power consumption amount or a second power consumption mode that operates at a second power consumption amount smaller than the first power consumption amount. A setting means for setting an action to be transferred;
When the remaining capacity of the battery reaches the first capacity in the state in which the action for shifting to the first power consumption mode is set, the second power consumption mode is switched to the first power consumption mode. Control means for shifting to the second power consumption mode when the remaining capacity of the battery reaches a second capacity smaller than the first capacity with the action to shift to
An information processing apparatus comprising:   When the action to shift to the first power consumption mode is set, the control means shifts to the first power consumption mode based on a value obtained by subtracting a predetermined value from the first capacity, When the operation for shifting to the second power consumption mode is set, the mode is shifted to the second power consumption mode based on a value obtained by adding a predetermined value to the second capacity. Item 6. The information processing apparatus according to Item 1.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a value obtained by subtracting a predetermined value from the first capacity matches a value obtained by adding a predetermined value to the second capacity.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first power consumption mode is a standby mode, and the second power consumption mode is a hibernation mode. In an information processing apparatus having a battery,
The operation mode of the information processing apparatus is changed to a first power consumption mode that operates at a first power consumption amount or a second power consumption mode that operates at a second power consumption amount smaller than the first power consumption amount. Setting means for setting the operation to be transferred;
Mode shifting means for shifting to the first power consumption mode or the second power consumption mode;
When the remaining capacity of the battery reaches the first capacity with the action for shifting to the first power consumption mode set, a predetermined value is subtracted from the first capacity to the mode shifting means. The remaining capacity of the battery of the battery reaches a second capacity that is smaller than the first capacity in a state in which an action for transferring to the second power consumption mode is set. A notification means for notifying the mode transition means of a value obtained by adding a predetermined value to the second capacity;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mode transition unit performs a power consumption mode transition based on a value notified from the notification unit.   6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a value obtained by subtracting a predetermined value from the first capacity matches a value obtained by adding a predetermined value to the second capacity.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the first power consumption mode is a standby mode, and the second power consumption mode is a hibernation mode. In a power consumption control method executed by an information processing apparatus having a battery,
The operation mode of the information processing apparatus is changed to a first power consumption mode that operates at a first power consumption amount or a second power consumption mode that operates at a second power consumption amount smaller than the first power consumption amount. Set the action to be migrated,
When the remaining capacity of the battery reaches the first capacity in the state in which the action for shifting to the first power consumption mode is set, the second power consumption mode is switched to the first power consumption mode. When the action to shift to is set, and the remaining capacity of the battery reaches a second capacity that is smaller than the first capacity, the power consumption is shifted to the second power consumption mode. Control method.   The transition to the power consumption mode means that the first power consumption is based on a value obtained by subtracting a predetermined value from the first capacity when an action to shift to the first power consumption mode is set. When the operation for shifting to the second power consumption mode is set, the mode is shifted to the second power consumption mode based on a value obtained by adding a predetermined value to the second capacity. The power consumption control method according to claim 8.   9. The power consumption control method according to claim 8, wherein a value obtained by subtracting a predetermined value from the first capacity matches a value obtained by adding a predetermined value to the second capacity.   9. The power consumption control method according to claim 8, wherein the first power consumption mode is a standby mode, and the second power consumption mode is a hibernation mode.

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